The Future of The Globe

“I’m optimistic because if you look at the media at large, it’s exploding,” Baron said in response to an audience member’s question. “The reality is that media is exploding and becoming much more entrepreneurial, much more creative.”

On November 19th, Emerson College journalism chair Ted Gup invited publisher of the Boston Globe, P. Steven Ainsley, and editor-in-chief, Marty Baron, to partake in a question and answer forum in the Semel Theatre to discuss the future of journalism in a way that could answer questions journalism students at Emerson are all thinking about.

In the past year The Globe has gone through one of it’s most tumultuous years with hundreds of journalists being laid off and cut-backs in salary and resources being made by The New York Times.

With the internet being the obvious new way most people get their news, The Globe is to ponder over what their new business model should be.

The question that comes to mind is, are readers going to be willing to pay for news that a dozen of other websites online supply them for free?

The Globe’s editor Baron says that readers these days are becoming more discerning with just what they consider reliable news on the web. “People are beginning to question the veracity of what they’re reading,” he said. “Thanks to the Internet more people are reading newspapers than ever before.”

During the open Q&A with Emersonians many students asked about their opinions on the future of journalism, a question weighing heavily on many future journalists.

Baron and Ainsley said they are frequently asked questions about the profession of journalism’s future and unlike many of their peers in the workforce they see the future as bright.

“The opportunities for people entering the journalism field are actually expanding rather than contracting.” said Baron. But what makes the next generation of reporters different is that they must be able to adapt to the changing environment that is the world of journalism.

According to Baron and Ainsley “media at large is expanding,” as opposed to many of the naysayers who say with the death of newspapers comes the end of credible newswriting. “The reality is that media is exploding and becoming much more entrepreneurial, much more creative.”